SECURITY AND SAFETY REGULATIONS – WHAT TERMINAL OPERATORS NEED TO KNOW

Peter Lidiak, vice president of regulatory affairs, International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA), looks at the latest US standards SECURITY and safety are two core values of bulk liquid terminal operators. As part of the critical infrastructure community, bulk liquid terminals must pay close attention to the safety of not only their workers and contractors but also the communities in which they operate. And because bulk liquid terminals serve as a hub for all modes of surface transportation, including pipelines, rail, ships, barges and trucks, they must be secure to safeguard continued, reliable operations and delivery of the products they handle, whether that’s chemicals, crude oil, petroleum products, vegetable oils, animal fats, molasses or other bulk liquids. For terminals, safety is primarily regulated through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via its Risk Management Programme (RMP) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through its Process Safety Management (PSM) and other worker safety programmes. While RMP focuses on the prevention of releases of hazardous chemicals and the protection of the environment and nearby communities,...